Veneficus
by Harryness
Summary: What if Harry had entered the Tri-Wizard tournament himself? What if Harry had chased after Fleur Delacour instead of Cho Chang? An epic reboot of Goblet of fire. Harry/Fleur


_…And the Goblet of Fire turned red once more; sparks showered out of it; the tongue of flame shot high into the air, and from its tip Dumbledore pulled the third piece of parchment._

_"The Hogwarts Champion," Dumbledore announced, his eyes widening slightly, "is Harry Potter!"_

Silence reigned supreme for only a few seconds before several loud shouts of protest echoed through the hall. The rest clapped, as they had clapped for the other champions.

Most of the protest was over the fact that Harry was too young. Others complained that Dumbledore had promised them that he could keep the students safe. And of course there were a few shouts that he was nothing but an attention seeking brat.

None of them were wrong.

With a simple motion of his hand, Dumbledore quieted the whole hall. He looked at Harry with a neutral expression at his face.

"Did you enter your name into Goblet of Fire, Harry?"

The whole hall waited with baited breath, but the answer the question would work against him either way.

"I did."

Dumbledore seemed momentarily surprised by his answer, but regained his composure right away, and had to silence the hall once more. "Quiet, please. Why did you enter your name in after I explained how dangerous this tournament can be?"

Mr. Crouch took this moment to interrupt before Harry could answer. "With all due respect, it does not matter why. The fact of the matter is that the Goblet of Fire is a magically binding contract, and he is forced to compete regardless. Nothing any of us can say or do will change the fact that the boy must compete."

"Then pardon me, and forgive an old man for his curiosity. Harry?"

"Well sir, it is like this. The whole time I have been in the wizarding world, I have been known for something that happened to me that was beyond my control. The only thing I remember of that night is the flash of the killing curse and my mother dying… that is the memory I relieve when dementors are near. So you see, I want to be remembered for something that I personally did. I want to be remembered as a Hogwarts Champion rather than the Boy-Who-Lived, and hopefully this is the start of me trying to make a name for myself."

"So you simply wish to be known for something that you actually worked for... I can understand that." Dumbledore spent a few seconds strumming his fingers on the podium. "Very well. You have proven that you can get around my protections surrounding the goblet. That is enough to convince me that you have the determination required for the tasks ahead. Now, please go join the other champions."

Harry nodded his head and left for the side door. He looked over at Ron and Hermione. He was not on the best terms with them, but now it was even worse. Ron's mouth was still hanging open in disbelief, and Hermione had a look of disappointment on her face.

The emotions of the hall were varied. Some were angry that Harry was the champion, somehow believing that he wasn't worthy. Harry laughed at that idea. He was a hero to the people, yet they seemed to be upset that he was now representing their country in an international tournament. Talk about double standards.

There were also quite a few disappointed faces as well. Some, like McGonagall, disapproved of him cheating the cup.

The look on Malfoy's face with quite comical. It looked like he just smelled something rank and his face was scrunched up with extreme disgust.  
Not everyone seemed to be against Harry though. Neville shot him a thumbs up when he made eye contact. Several other students gave him nods of encouragement, or simply didn't care. Even a few Slytherins seemed to somewhat impressed to have him as champion. They didn't outwardly show it, but Harry had been a student with them long enough to notice the subtle changes in demeanor.

Harry walked through the side door with the many of the adults following as well. That walk had never seemed so long.

Inside was a decently lit roam with a fire roaring in a grate in one corner. The international Quidditch star was staring at it intently, only to turn his attention on Harry when he walked in.

Fleur seemed surprised at his appearance and tried to say something before she was cut off "What _ee_s this? Surely this –"

"May I introduce you to the third Triwizard champion, Harry Potter?"

"Him? 'E _ee_s nuzzing but a l_ee_tle boy!" Fleur disagreed with a heavy French accent.

"I assure you, his name just came out of the Goblet, and -"

Karkaroff wanted to give a piece of his mind as well. "What is the meaning of this! He is underage! If I had known that an underage student could enter his name in, I would have brought a wider selection!"

"Be that as it may –" Dumbledore tried to speak up again, but once more got cut off. Moody stomped up from behind them all.

"How did you get your name in the cup? Was it dark magic?"

Dumbledore was about to respond but McGonagall cut him off.  
"Surely you are joking! Harry Potter use dark magic? The son of James and Lily!"

Moody seemed unphased by her outburst. "The cup must have been hoodwinked, perhaps a – "

Moody was interrupted by Ludo Bagman. "How about we just ask Harry?"

All heads swiveled to him and Harry subconsciously gulped. "Uh, well, I simply used a switching spell. I had my own piece of parchment with my name on it, and when another person went to put theirs in, I switched it with mine."

Dumbledore started to stroke his beard. "Ah! Simple, yet, ingenious. I applaud you for your cunning."

"That still does not change a fact that he is a boy. It will be dangerous!"

"Let's not forget that Harry Potter is more than a just a boy." Dumbledore said, his tone becoming serious. "He has thwarted Voldemort three times, twice within these very halls, and slain a basilisk. Also remember that Harry's name was in the cup with many other students, all older than him and with more schooling. Yet the Goblet still decided that Harry was the most worthy champion of them all."

"I hadn't thought of it like that." Bagman muttered. A small census of agreement trickled through the crowd and Krum was giving Harry an appraising look. Fleur was talking rapidly with her headmistress in French.

Mr. Crouch then spoke up. "Now that we got the… semantics out of the way, I want to congratulate you three for being chosen as your schools representative champion. There are five tasks ahead of you, each representing an ancient force of the world. Air, Earth, Water, Fire, and Spirit, and each requiring you to act and think in different ways."

"The first task will be held ten days from now. It is a test of daring, courage and bravery. You will start the first task with nothing but your wits and your wands. Courage in the face of unknown danger is very important to a wizard… very important. Information for the second task will be given at the completion of the first task. Good luck."

Dumbledore had something to add. "I suppose it is worth mentioning that due to the nature of the tasks, all champions will be exempt from their end of year examinations."

"I think that covers everything, Albus?"

"I believe so. Are you sure you don't wish to stay at Hogwarts tonight, Barty?"

"No, no. I need to get back to the Ministry. The World Cup incident has been a fiasco… I don't want to leave my assistant Weatherby alone for too long. A little bit too enthusiastic, if you ask me, but well meaning."

Dumbledore then started offing drinks to the others, but Karkaroff had already escorted Krum out of the door, and Fleur was in the process of leaving with Maxime.

Bagman had no such qualms. "A shame. This is the place to be in the moment. Much more exciting than the office!"

"I dare hope so." Dumbledore responded merrily. "Minerva, if you could please escort Mr. Potter up to the dorms, I would be most grateful. I am sure his friends have a lot to say to him."

"As you wish, Albus. Come, Potter."

Harry followed his strict head of house into the hallway. The feast was already over. He was not expecting a pleasant conversation with her.  
They walked in silence for a few minutes before McGonagall finally spoke. "I must admit I am surprised."

"How so?" Harry asked.

"I did not think you of all people would be foolish enough to enter into this dangerous event. People have died."

"I know of the risks, but I think the reward is worth it."

Minerva sighed before speaking up. "James would be proud. This would be exactly something that he would do. Lily… Lily would be angry at first, but she would be just as proud as well."

Harry wasn't sure how to respond to her partial compliment, but they had just arrived at the portrait of the Fat Lazy.

"Do our school proud, Potter. You have come too far now than to do any less than your absolute best." She hesitated for a moment before reaching down and giving Harry a brief hug. "My office is always open if you need guidance, or just an open ear."

"Thank you professor."

"Good Night."

He entered through the portrait and immediately saw a party going on. Many students, both younger and older, gathered around him, cheering incoherently. Harry just went with the flow, giving high-fives and receiving many pats in the back.

He couldn't hear much of the noise, but he did hear one question stick out. "What is the first task?"

"They didn't tell us. It is supposed to be a surprise. It is only ten days away though…"

"Wow." Seamus Finnigan spoke up. "You got some balls Harry. Big ones too."

"Uh, thanks?" Harry said in response to Seamus making a cupping motion with his hand.

Harry continued to move through the crowd, but out of nowhere a drink appeared in his hand. He thought it was butterbeer at first, but he was wrong.

Firewhiskey.

He nearly coughed from the taste, but held himself when he saw Fred and George approaching.

"What do we have here?"

"It looks like ickle Harrikins is no longer a baby."

"I am so proud, George." Fred? said before wiping a fake tear.

"He has grown up in front of our very own eyes. What's next?"

"A girlfriend?"

"Anyone special in your life?"

"You can have Ginny if you want."

"She has a crush on you, you know?"

"Still?" Harry asked.

"Yup."

"As much as I appreciate the offer, no thanks."

"Shame."

"Ooooh is that Firewhiskey?"

"Indeed, twin of mine. He is so grown up."

Harry had just about lost track of their back and forth talk, but it seemed they were no stranger to Firewhiskey as one just belched out a fireball. It was probably them who provided the case in the first place.

"So how did –"

" - you enter your name in?"

"Switching spell on Diggory's parchment." Harry replied.

"Oooh, that is evil."

"But ingenious. Why didn't we think of that?"

"Because dear bother, that is not nearly flashy enough."

"True. Sometimes simple is best, but explosions and bright lights are better."

"Indeed."

"Here is some friendly advice before we go join the lovely chasers over there…"

"Ron is not too happy. He is convinced that you should have told him."

"Not like it matters though, as if he would get chosen over you." They both laughed. "If he gives you grief, just tell him off. He'll get over it."

Harry was now grinning wildly. "I'll keep that in mind."

They parted ways and Harry chucked his finished bottle into a bin after mingling for awhile more, before heading up the stairs. It was quite strong stuff, and he did not like it much. It probably wasn't even actual whiskey.  
The lights were off in the room. He could see the sleeping forms of Dean, Neville and Ron in their beds.

He quickly got changed and lay down in his bed, ready to attempt to get some sleep. It did not take long before Ron's voice permeated the room.  
"What's the deal Harry? Why didn't you tell me? I thought we were friends! A thousand galleons, blimey. Man, I thought I knew you."

"Hey Ron? " Harry called out. "Shut the fuck up."

Harry slammed his curtains closed and forcefully cast a silencing spell upon them. "Bloody prick, I don't need his shit right now, I have enough to worry about."

Unfortunately for Harry, the silencing spell he used only blocked sound from coming in, and not his sound from going out. Neville and Dean had to hide their laughter while Ron fumed to himself.

And also unfortunately for Harry, he had an unknown task ahead of him in only ten days. He had bravery (or perhaps stupidity) by the bucket load, but that did not make up for his lack of knowledge. He only had three completed years of schooling, and it was obvious that he was going to have to gain some good survival knowledge and quick.

His thoughts immediately turned to who he could ask for help. The obvious answer was Moody. He seemed eager enough to help students, even if he did seem crazy and quite comfortable with questionable magics. As long as he didn't ask for help directly with the tournament, he should be fine.

What he really needed to do was figure out exactly what he was facing. If he could do that, then everything else should fall into place. In actuality, if he could just survive the task, than that would be a win in his book.

The next morning came too early for Harry, even though he slept in. He did not want to face the masses, or more specifically, Hermione and Ron.

Ever since the train ride, Harry had been on the outs with them. It is because they withheld information from him. Ron in particular. He knew something was happening at Hogwarts this year. It would be hard not too to find out as his dad and a brother both work at the Ministry. Hermione probably figured it out somehow, most likely from eavesdropping. Not even she would be randomly reading through a four hundred year old book and chance upon the last Triwizard Tournament and someone how connect that to recent events. Maybe he was acting irrationally; he wasn't perfect.

Harry put on his best outfit after showering up. Best was simply a synonym for newest, because all of his clothes are of the same exact quality.

He did want to look presentable though, because he knew that all eyes would be on him when he entered the great hall for breakfast.

Speaking of breakfast… it seemed that no one had bothered to wake him up, or wait for him, so he would have to go there by himself. Not that he minded of course. Naturally he simply forgot that he had a silencing charm on the outside of his bed and wouldn't have heard a banshee screaming.

He made his way through the common room. He was half expecting Hermione to launch out of the shadows while yelling and lecturing him.

Unmolested, Harry managed his way out of the room and briskly made his way down to the great hall. He did not want to miss breakfast, and he wanted to start his research right away.

He entered into the great hall, and unsurprisingly, all eyes were upon him. At least he somewhat deserved it this time, but it didn't mean he had to like it.

Immediately a problem became apparent. He didn't know where to sit. Hermione was sitting next to Ron and Neville, and he did not want to be near Ron at all right now. That also meant that the small possibility of Hermione helping him do research was out the window, and he was forced to brave the library by himself.

He shuddered. The library was not a pleasant thought. It's like a gay black man walking into a prison filled with Aryan Brotherhood members.

The problem was that he didn't really know anybody else.

But something Dumbledore said earlier in the year came to his mind. Something about international cooperation, making friends, and stuff like that.

Making new friends? Sure, why not. He might as well get to know the champions a little bit better.

Fleur was out of the question, at least right now. She was too good looking, snooty, and she didn't have nice things to say about him the previous night. And the worst thing of all, she is French.

So he headed over to the Slytherin table where the Durmstrang students were sitting. Krum seemed decent enough. Well, at least he didn't call him a little boy.

It seemed that Harry had arrived somewhat late, as the hall was only half full. But that worked to his favor as there was an empty seat across from Krum.

The whole hall quieted as he walked. They were trying to figure out what he was doing, not like it was any of their business.

He took a seat across from Krum and held out his hand in greeting. "Harry Potter."

Krum hesitated only briefly before giving a firm handshake. "Viktor Krum."

"Good to meet you."

Krum looked unsure what to say, or perhaps his English was simply lacking. He pronounced his words slowly, and carefully. "I am looking forvard to competing against you."

"It shall be dangerous, but fun."

"Dangerous, yes. That is what is fun about it. And the girls. Hogwarts is somewhat lacking though..."

Krum made it a point to check out some of the nearby girls. That just happened to include Millicent Bulstrode and Pansy Parkinson. He actually shivered.

Harry wasn't sure how to reply to that, so he simply smiled and nodded his head.

"So what is Durmstrang like?" Harry asked. He didn't really care all that much, but perhaps it would be a good icebreaker.

"Cold. Dark. The castle is larger than Hogwarts, but there are less floors. It is… newer style. Gothic is the word I think."

"What about the classes?"

"Much the same as here, except they are more suited to the…" Viktor seemed to be searching for the proper phrase. "region's political climate."

'I heard someone mention something about dark arts…"

Viktor shook his head. "That is your ministry regulations. We have different regulations. I do not have any specifics…"

"Okay." Harry decided to change topics. "How does Quidditch work at your school?"

A smile came across Viktor's face. "It is like this…"

* * *

Harry finally managed to make his way up to the library. He and Viktor had actually managed to talk for Quidditch for over an hour. A house elf even showed up with secondsies and tea. He had never heard of such a thing before.

Regardless of eccentric house elves, he was still focused on the task ahead and his task of collecting information for the task ahead.

That was how his brain was thinking. He was confused and overwhelmed at the same time. He didn't even know where to begin looking, and didn't really have a good method of researching either.

He realized now that he had relied too much on Hermione in the past, and it was already coming back to haunt him. And he wasn't even in his OWL year yet.

The bookshelf in front of him was very intimating. He started skimming the titles, looking for anything of interest. He was in the history section, but that was half the library.

He must have skimming fire whole cases of books without seeing anything remotely related to the Triwizard tournament.

A sigh escaped from his lips. He truly was rubbish at researching.

A book did catch his eye, but it was unrelated to the Triwizard tournament. The title on the faded book read "Artifacts of Power, Wealth and Glory" On the cover was a surprisingly accurate sketch of a Philosopher's Stone. He tucked it under his arm and kept looking around.

He only managed to scan another shelf when a small coughing sound came from his right. He quickly turned, and saw an unknown girl staring back at him.

"You are Harry Potter." She stated simply. Her voice held no edge, it actually sounded friendly. She was younger than him, but it was hard to tell if she was a fast developing second year or a slow growing third year. She was cute though, with mousy brown hair and warm blue eyes.

"That's me." Harry responded lamely.

"What are you looking for?"

"Anything to help me with the First Task."

A frown came across the girl's face. "Do you know what it is about?"

"No, but I'm hoping to find some references to past Tournaments to gain some insight."

A look of understanding came across her face as she nodded her head. "I know someone who can help." She started to skip away but Harry quickly called out to her.

"Wait, I didn't get your name."

She smiled before answer, "Astoria," and the turned the corner.

"Strange girl." He muttered to himself. "Friendly enough I supposed."

It wasn't two minutes later before the girl, Astoria, was back, with another girl in tow.

The new girl was taller, and either Harry's age or older. It was obvious that they were sisters, but while the young girl could be called cute, the older girl would be called pretty.

The sisters shared similar jaw and cheekbones, but their hair and eyes were different. While Astoria's were brown and blue, the older girl had slightly wavy, light blonde hair. The girl's eyes were also a pleasant green color, but nowhere near as vivid as Harry's.

He also noticed for the first time that the sisters both had Slytherin colors on, along with the customary badge.

Astoria seemed pleasant enough, and that gave Harry pause in his almost instinct reflexes to insult them. He decided to withhold judgment, and not seem like a callous prick.

These were two girls after all, and not Malfoy. Plus it seemed like Astoria wanted to help him.

He was about to say something but the older girl beat him. They had made eye contact and her mouth almost dropped in shock "You want me to help Harry Potter!" she said in a loud whisper at her sister. "Are you crazy?"

Astoria seemed unphased by her older sister's attitude. "He is the Hogwarts champion. Hogwarts, not Gryffindor. He represents the whole school, and that includes us. Slytherin and Gryffindor are both part of Hogwarts, and as a whole, we should be supporting our champion against the other schools."

The older sister seemed at a loss for words momentarily before slowly nodding her head. She muttered something like "School pride is more important than house pride. Alright, what do you need my help with?"

Harry suddenly seemed unsure of himself. He suddenly had two Slytherins offering their help to him, albeit the one was somewhat coerced. "Perhaps we introduce ourselves first?"

"You don't know who I am Potter? We have shared several classes together for the past four years."

Astoria kicked her sister in the shin, but Harry replied. "How about we change that then? I am Harry Potter."

Harry held out his hand, and the older sister stared at it hesitantly. "Daphne Greengrass."

Daphne was surprised that the Boy-Who-Lived didn't give her an inappropriate handshake, but rather, he kissed the back of her hand. She had never heard of Potter being anything but an ignorant muggle raised half blood.

Astoria jumped up and clapped her hands together. "Good, now that we are friends, Harry why don't you tell Daphne what you are looking for. She is smarter than she looks."

"Well, er, I am not about to turn down the help offer from two pretty witches. I am looking for history of the Tournament, preferable with details about the individual tasks."

Astoria giggled, taking it in stride, but Daphne simply ignored the comment. She did not fail to make direct eye contact though.

"You want to see if there is a trend or pattern so you can best prepare yourself. And if there is one? Do you know enough spells to put you on even footing with the other champions?"

"Not really." Harry said awkwardly, "I'm decent at practical stuff, I suppose."

"I've seen you in class, you are lazy. But you also have a lot of potential. If you put your mind to it and stop imitating Weasley, you could be in a lot better position that you are in now. You let a muggleborn have more knowledge than you, the last heir to the House of Potter!"

Harry wasn't sure whether that was a compliment or a rebuke. "Hermione is the smartest witch in the year, how could I surpass her?"

Daphne started looking at him as if he had two heads, and Astoria started giggling. "Did that killing curse turn you into a retard Potter?" Daphne said, poking him in his famous scar.

"What?"

"She has a decent amount of book knowledge, but that's it. She has almost no skill with a wand. Using a wand is not an arithmancy problem, it is an art form, one of which she is surprisingly lacking in imagination with. You never get anywhere adhering to something as mundane as rules. You know all about breaking rules, don't you Potter?"

Harry found himself nodding his head. "I have broken a few…"

Astoria giggled again and Daphne let out an unlady-like snort.

"Yes, and that is where you can excel. There is more to magic than just memorizing a book, waving a wand around and saying a few words. Magic is a feeling."

Daphne was scanning the shelves during her impromptu lecture. Harry wasn't sure if he was being scolded or lectured, but he felt ashamed of himself.

The words came out of his mouth before he even realized it. "Help me. Please."

Daphne turned around, having found a book, and looked at him with almost pitying eyes, but upon making eye contact, she saw the determination and found herself nodding her head.  
"Alright. But only because you said please."

Harry stared at her for a few seconds, dumbstruck. Did she just make a joke? He found himself grinning, and his grin grew larger when she saw that the Slytherin also had a small smile on her face. Astoria seemed to be permanently cheerful, so he ignored her.

The tension dissipated and the three of them started scanning shelves. Harry was surprised when he realized that Daphne was actually taller than him by a good 2 inches, and Astoria was only an inch short than him. Granted, he was small for his age but he did have a growth spurt during the summer.

Of course he knew that girls grew as well, and that was obvious when that he noticed that the girl next to him had been growing very well. That school robes were hardly flattering, but he could tell trough her expensive uniform that she was developing nicely. She had large… what did Seamus call them? Sweater meat? Yes, that was it.

She had a great set of sweater meat, and Harry couldn't help but stare through the bookcase that was now separating them. Her sister's weren't half bad either, even though she was two years younger.

Of course, Harry knew any self respecting fourteen year old boy could have and would have come to the same conclusion. It was an oft visited topic in the boys' dorm. Never about Slytherins though. Gryffindor's never talked about them. Hell, they probably were clueless to the fact that there were other girls other than Pansy in that house, just like he was. He wouldn't tell them his discovery of a hot Slytherin girl. It would be his own private secret. His own… his precious.

Hot? Since when had he ever used the word hot? Not ever. He didn't even consider Cho hot. He decided he didn't really like the word 'hot.' It sounded too crude in his mind. Perhaps 'beautiful' would be better.

Daphne had moved on to the next shelf, so Harry was forced to start oogling the books instead. He frowned, but no one was around to see it. But perhaps it was for the best that he stopped getting side tracked with indecent thoughts, got his mind out of the gutter, and started thinking about the task that would be happening in under a week and a half.

It was quite a drop in visual aesthetics, but he did find a book that could be helpful. He tucked it under his arm, and quickly found a second one as well.

The books dropped onto the table with a loud sound, and Harry sat behind them preparing for the extreme test of patience that was about to begin.

Daphne sat across from him, with four books of her own, and Astoria had two as well. He missed the odd look Daphne gave him when he started leafing through the pages of the book.

"What are you doing Potter?"

Harry looked at her, confusion on his face. "Reading?"

"Do you not know how to search a book with magic?"

Harry shook his head.

"And you have the bookworm mudblood as your best friend…" Daphne said with a laugh. Her laugh sounded foreign, as if she was unused to the action, but it was pleasant enough, if a little haughty. Harry frowned at her casual use of the word mudblood, but she did use it in an actual derogatory way without having the word be the insult itself. Still, her casual, constant demeaning was getting frustrating.

"Help me then. Teach me how to do it."

"What do you know of runes?"

"Next to nothing." Harry admitted. "I am not in the class."

"There are some runes that every wizard should know regardless." She snapped at him, before her demeanor switched once more. "Consider this your first lesson in runes, since your know-it-all friend has failed to teach the hero of the wizarding world anything of value."

Harry simply rolled his eyes. Daphne obviously had a grudge against Hermione, but he didn't know her well enough to confront the subject.

"I don't think she knows it either. I've only seen her read books the normal way."

"You mean the muggle way?" She said with a smile. "She still hasn't figured out that she is a witch and not a muggle then…"

She didn't follow that up with anything more insulting, but rather switched back to the task on hand. "Every magical book in here is protected by an assortment of magic."

"You mean screaming and blinding books?"

"No…" Daphne replied slowly. "You have been spending too much time in the restricted section."

Harry didn't even bother to give a retort as Daphne plowed along with her impromptu lesson.  
"These books are protected. They are fire resistant, wear resistant, tear resistant, water resistant…"

"I get it, they are very resistant."

Daphne glared at him. "They are also protected from thievery, but the magic is not foolproof. Regardless of the individual spells on them, they are enchanted using runes."

"Ah," Harry replied with a hint of understanding. "The crux of the matter."

"Shut the fuck up Potter and let me finish. Do you want my help or not?"

Harry held his hands up in a placating matter. "I'm just trying to lighten to mood. I am quite possibly going to die in ten days."

"And I am trying to help you, but you keep saying stupid things."

"And you keep insulting my friend. I don't have many friends, but I like to think my friendship is very valuable. I don't trust very easily, but I am trusting you to help me. "

Whatever Daphne was expecting him to say, it was not that. Her angry looked changed to a sad look. "Sorry." She mumbled.

Harry nodded his head. "It only takes one strike to lose my trust. Just ask Ron. So tell me, are you going to be the stereotypical Slytherin, or are you going to reach out and help someone who desperately needs help? I'm trying to broaden my horizons of possible friends, but you are berating me at every step." Harry took a breath and steeled himself. "You do know I have killed a man before, right?

She nodded her head slowly. "I'll help."

Daphne then came closer and sat right next to him, bringing the book closer so it was now in between the two of them. She opened the back cover and started explaining which individual rune was and the role it played in protecting the book.

The main rune that the original lesson was for, was on the inside front cover page of the book. It was the search rune, or in crude muggle terms, the query filter.

Daphne tapped the rune with her wand and clearly stated "Triwizard Tasks."

Harry watched as the page filled up with a list of page numbers that contained both the words 'Triwizard' and 'tasks' Daphne then tapped the very first line with her wand and the book opened to that page on its own accord, pages flapping through the air.

"Impressive." Harry stated, before trying out the rune himself.

It was then that his research had really begun in earnest. The three off them were now sifting through the large tomes looking for any bits of information that could help him.

And find information they did. He just didn't know how helpful it would be. They discovered commons themes, such as a battle of might, a battle of wills, a battle of skill, a battle of speed, a battle of courage. Of course some of those were overlapping and could be unclear. What was clear was the fact that every single tournament featured some kind of magical creature prominently in one of the tasks. Sometimes even two or three tasks were facing off with creatures.

He didn't like the prospect of facing off with a creature. The fight with the basilisk left bad memories in him, no matter how hard he tried to forget or suppress them.

There was no pattern to which task came first. It was not always the task of water, or the task of fire. Harry didn't even know which element his first task was going to be. What they did know is that the first task is almost always the flashiest.

And to bloodthirsty witches and wizards, that meant a monster fight. It was always flashy to start off with, and then came the challenges of skill, knowledge and ability. The finale was usually a mix of everything learned at the school and then some.

Of course it didn't always happen like that, as more than a few records show, but that was a probable possibility. And it was better than having no idea at all.

They left for lunch, but Harry and Daphne pretended they didn't know each other when he sat at the Slytherin table next to Krum.

Astoria had no qualms sitting next to him. Harry liked talking to her; it was very easy and she was very friendly. She held no judgment over anyone, regardless of fanciful house relations.  
Harry was unused to someone so… animated. She seemed totally out of place with her snake lapel pin. She would probably seem out of place any house actually.

He spent the rest of the weekend in much the same way; meals with Krum and Astoria, followed by researching in the library. Krum had introduced some of his friends to Harry, but some of them didn't know any English at all, so it was hard.

* * *

Monday came around and Harry tried to pay attention in classes, but it simply wasn't working. He had more important things to be doing, such as studying for the task coming up on Sunday.

He was barely able to pay attention to Snape and his lecture on poisons and antidotes. Hermione was next to him, not by his choice, but he didn't really mind.

They were still not talking, but the friendship was on the bottom of his 'to do' list. Ron was sitting with Dean and Seamus, and Neville was on Harry's other side.

In between Neville attempts to not kill himself (only moderately successful) and Hermione's attempts to make Snape hate her even more (very successful), the door opened and one of Harry's least favorite people entered the door; Colin Creevey.

The younger kid walked straight up to Snape's desk, nervousness pouring from his body.

"Sir -?"

"Yes?" Snape asked impatiently.

"Harry Potter is needed upstairs." Colin said quickly.

"Potter has another hour of potions to complete. If he survives the hour, then he can go."

"But, Sir, Mr. Bagman has requested all the champions –"

"Very Well! Potter, I want you back here after to test you antidote."

"But Professor, Mr. Bagman has-" Creevey interrupted.

"Fine! Potter, take you bags and get out of my sight! Enjoy your publicity."

Harry gathered up his gear, ignoring the looks of the other students, some with 'POTTER STINKS!' badges, and followed Creevey out the door.

Harry thanked Merlin for the distraction; he wasn't in the mood to be poisoned by Snape today. He had hoped that the walk to wherever he was going would be quiet, but it was not to be.

"It's amazing, isn't it? You being champion and all."

"Yeah, yeah," Harry dismissed him, "Where are we going?"

"Photoshoot for the Daily Prophet."

"Lovely." Harry stated with sarcasm. Harry tuned out the kids annoying prattling, and they finally arrived at a door.

He went inside after waving Colin an insincere good bye. There were quite a few people in the room.

Ludo Bagman spotted him entering and immedietly ushered him next to the other champions."Great! The last champion is here so now we can get started."

Harry noticed several people he recognized, and several he didn't. Dumbledore was there, as was Maxime and Karkaroff, Bagman and Crouch, and hiding in the corner he spotted Ollivander. There were also several other people he did not recognize, but he assumed them to be the press if the cameras and quills were anything to go by.

Mr. Crouch spoke up next. "Tradition dictates that all champions must participate in the Weighing of the Wands to ensure their wand is in serviceable condition. It would not do to have a Champion with a faulty wand. Pictures will be taken after the Weighing. Mr. Ollivander, if you will?"

From his corner Ollivander emerged. A few of the reporters obviously didn't notice he was there and were startled.

"As the preeminent wandcrafter of England, the Ministry has asked me to inspect all the Champions' wands. I remind you that it is a great honor to be in your positions. But I also must remind you that each Champion is limited to one wand, and the wand they use in the tasks must be the same wand I am inspecting today."

Ollivander went on to explain a little history behind wands and their importance to modern society, which frankly Harry did not care about. After about ten minutes, Ollivander finally said. "Ladies first. Mademoiselle Delacour, if I may see your wand."

Fleur got up from her seat and strode over to where Ollivander was standing in front of a makeshift table.

Harry couldn't help but watch her walk, and it was as if he was noticing exactly how hot she was for the first time.

Ollivander took Fleur's wand in his hand and started to inspect it. He spun the wand around in his fingers, emitting an assortment of different colored lights. He then stopped and inspected it visually, and if Harry was not mistaken, smelling it as well.

"Intersting…. Hmmm… nine and a half inches… inflexible… rosewood… and oh my? Is that –"

"An 'air from ze 'ead of a veela," said Fleur. "One of my grandmuzzer's."

That got Harry's attention. 'So she is a veela! Damn'! That got Krum's attention as well, who was attempting to polish his wand with his robe.

'I wouldn't mind her polishing my wand. Nine and a half inches indeed.' Harry thought lecherously. She was incredibly beautiful. Long, platinum blonde hair, moderately tall, slender legs and hips, small, tight ass, and large, spectacularly shaped breasts. The Beauxbatons robes were much better than Hogwarts robes. Of course, she was not without fault. The first of which was their three year age difference and the way she treated him the previous week. And then there was the biggest flaw, and that was the fact that she is French.

Still, despite her Frenchyness, he would hit that six ways 'till Sunday.

"Yes," said Mr. Ollivander, "yes, I've never used veela hair myself, of course. I find it makes for rather temperamental wands...however, to each their own, and if this suits you..."

Mr. Ollivander ran his fingers along the wand, apparently checking for scratches or bumps; then he muttered, "Orchideous!" and a bunch of flowers burst from the wand tip.

Every male in the room watched Fleur as she walked back and sat down on the other side of Krum.

Incidentally, it was also Krum's turn to have his wand inspected. Harry made it a point to not look at Fleur, who was sitting a mere two feet away now.

Krum's wand weighing wasn't nearly as interesting in Fleur's, being made by a guy name Gregorovich, ten and a quarter inches, hornbeam and dragon heartstring.

Harry daydreamed of veela for the whole five minutes where Ollivander and Krum were talking before he was jostled awake and standing before the old wandmaker himself.

"Harry Potter." The old man stated. "I remember this wand well. One of my best works… eleven inches, holly, phoenix feather."

Ollivander inspected the wand much more closely than the others. He wafted the smell of the wand into his face as if it were a fine wine. He twirled the wand between his nimble fingers in a blur, and a different note of sound came out of each finger.

The notes of Ollivander's phoenix song had a profound effect on everyone in the room. Ollivander had a pleased smiled on his face. Karkaroff and one of the reporters wearing horribly tacky clothes had a look of disgust.

Dumbledore seemed very happy, too happy, if the tenting of his robes was anything to judge by. Fleur seemed to be humming to the sound of the tune, which in itself was a beautiful sound. Krum seemed bored of the whole affair.

Harry felt as if the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders. He felt refreshed and renewed, and felt like he had a legitimate chance of conquering the first task, whatever it was.

Ollivander finished his display by conjuring a wine glass, holding it in his left hand and shooting a precise stream of wine out of Harry's wand and into the glass. He then handed the glass of wine off to Madame Maxime.

She swirled it under her nose before taking a sip. "Divine," she commented before finishing the glass off.

"Your wand is in excellent working condition, Mr. Potter. Good Luck."

Harry took his wand back from the wandcrafter and felt the comfortable warmth of magic in his hand once more.

"Thank you, Mr. Ollivander." Dumbledore stated. "Now, I believe classes are just about to end, so perhaps you would like to go straight to dinner instead –"

"Photos!" Bagman cried. "Don't forget about the photos!"

"Ah, yes, very well." Dumbledore complied.

The impartial judges and the champions lined up against one side while one of the journalists, Rita Skeeter, and her photographer shuffled them around.

Maxime was in the back of every photo, her tall frame dwarfing them all in every shot. Krum tried his best to seem inconspicuous. Rita kept pulling Harry to the front, but the photographer kept putting the part-veela in the center of the shot.

Eventually after what seemed like eternity, the photos were done. Harry left immedietly, ignoring the calls from one of the reporters to do an interview. He walked through the halls aimlessly, not really wanting to do much of anything except get away from the magical paparazzi.

Before he knew it, he found himself in the library. There were very few other students, none of which Harry recognized. They were all older students, so Harry chose a table far away.

He looked for a book to pass the time with, and he picked out "Artifacts of Power, Wealth and Glory" once more.

Harry enjoyed reading about artifacts that had more power than should be possible. The Amulet of Cain, Mjöllnir, and Excalibur. But there were also magical items as well Rhyllasi; the Branch of Yggdrassil, the Wand of Destiny, and the Philosopher's Stone were just a few.

By the time Harry had gotten halfway through the book, he realized that he had missed dinner. He quickly stuffed the book on the shelf from where he found it and headed out in the hallway. If he was lucky, the tables might not be cleared yet.

He took a rarely used shortcut behind a suit of armor that lead him quickly down to the second floor. From there it was the hallway until the main stairs.

However just as he turned a corner, he ran into the two walls of the Gryffindor Beaters, George and Fred Weasley.

"Well, isn't it the man of the week! Look what we caught ourselves, Fred."

"I see, dear brother. And what would the Hogwarts Champion be doing roaming the halls at this hour?"

"Er, I was going down to dinner to see if there is anything left."

"Tough luck kid, Ron ate everything, as usual."

"But fear not, we know a place. Isn't that right George?"

"Indeed Fred. Come with us, little Harry. We'll get you more food than you'll know what do with."

The twins picked up Harry from under his arms, dragged him down several flights of stairs, and down into subfloor one. They stopped in front of a portrait of a pair. Harry quirked an eyebrow as the pear laughed when the twins tickled it.

The portrait opened on a hinge, revealing a door behind it. The twins motioned for Harry to go down first, so he did.

The room he entered was not at all what he was expecting. The room was absolutely massive. On one side was a series of kitchens, and in the middle were four long tables, identical in length to the ones in the great hall. And in the room, dozens of house elves worked furiously on anything and everything.

"Wow." Harry said, astonished.

"Welcome to the Hogwarts Kitchens." Fred and/or George replied. All at once, the house elves seemed to notice them and all scampered over to where they were standing.

"What get we get for sirs?" An elf asked. "We serve anything!"

"Dinner?" Harry asked.

"Easy peasy!"

All the elves scattered, and within minute Harry, Fred and George were at a table eating a massive feast.

"How often do you come down here?" Harry asked.

"Now and then." George answered evasively.

"Food and drink for parties has to come from somewhere." Fred answered with a shrug.

"Oh, I thought you guys snuck down into Hogsmede for the drink."

"There is that too." Fred confirmed.

"That reminds me of something. Tell him Fred."

"Oh right. We were down in Hogsmede during the weekend, not doing anything illegal I assure you, and we ran into someone we were not expecting."

"Who?"

"Our brother, Charlie."

"Doesn't he work with dragons in Romania?" Harry asked bewildered.

"Precisely."

"So what is he doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious? He's here for the Tournament."

"Are you suggesting that the first task involves dragons?" Harry said in astonishment.

"See George? He is smarter than he looks."

"Perhaps not, he is going to be facing down a dragon in a week's time."

"To true." Fred replied.

"How am I supposed to defeat a dragon?"

The twins shrugged. "The eyes are its weak spot. Good luck with that."

"Thanks for telling me. You've just helped me more than you could possibly know."

"No problem. Mum would kill us if you died in this thing."

Harry grinned as they made their way out of the kitchens and back up to the Gryffindor common room. They took every secret passage they could in true Marauder style.

They parted ways, Harry heading up to his room while the twins stayed in the common room, probably to peddle some of their joke products.

Harry wanted to get to bed early, because he knew it would take forever to fall asleep, what with dragons in his near future. He was too stressed to have a restful night sleep, so he solved that after putting proper silencing charms on his curtains and put his right hand into action.

888

After getting ready for a day of schooling, after a trip to the owlery, after breakfast with Viktor, Harry found himself in nap time, or rather, History of Magic.

History usually didn't appeal much to Harry. Well, only specific parts of history, and more specifically, the parts that Binns taught, such as the endless amount of identical Goblin rebellions, or occasional witch hunt.

As the ghostly professor prattled on about the goblin rebellion of 1622, he suddenly remembered something he read only a few days ago, and his curiosity got peaked.  
Harry raised his hand, but the ghost didn't notice until he called out."Er, excuse me, Professor Binns?"

Binns turned around from the board and looked momentarily startled that someone was actually asking a question. Everyone (who was awake) was focusing on Harry now, Hermione in particular.

"You have a question… Henry is it?"

"Harry, actually. These are the same goblins that sought Rhyllasi, are they not?"

"Yes they are, and they found it in 1633."

"Wait, so it's not just a Viking legend? Why did they want it anyway?"

"Who wouldn't want it? Do you know what it can do?" Binns asked. Harry shook his head, just to keep it interesting. "It's a branch from the mythical World Tree, the Tree of Life."  
"But the tree has never been found." Harry replied.

"Correct. Just like the Fountain of Youth, Atlantis and El Dorado. And like those, the Tree has its fare share of stories surrounding it. Legends state that location is secret to all but a Viking Chief, but unlike the other legends, we have proof of its existence in several of its branches. Rhyllasi is just one branch, but rumor it that wands and staves have been made from other branches."

"But what does the branch do?"

"The goblins have been a race struggling to survive for centuries. In a population that is ninety percent male, and couple with low birthrates, and even lower survival rates, the continuation of their race is important to them. The branch, Rhyllasi, enhances fertility and promotes life. It has slowly brought the goblins back from the brink of extinction, so its magic is very real, and very potent."

"So where is it?"

"Where else but Gringotts of course. There is a reason why I preach on about goblins. They control all of our money, and run our world behind the scenes. They own our history as well. They keep countless ancient artifacts in their vault, from all over the Earth. Excalibur, Hrunting, Fragarach, Gandiva, Ancile… The goblins own all these and more."

"He who controls the past, commands the future." Harry quoted.

"Right you are, Harvey."

Just then the clock chimed, signaling the end of the class. Everyone walked out of the room in a somber mood, having perhaps actually learned something for the first time since second year and the chamber of secrets.

Harry and the other students had an hour before the next class, so he headed off to the library to find out about dragons.

The library housed lots of books about dragons, Harry knew that already. He had seen Hagrid take out a bunch of them in first year. Dragons are just as popular of a subject in the wizarding word as they are in the muggle world, expect that the wizarding world has hard facts.

Harry only browsed for five minutes before Astoria showed up at his elbow. "Ohhh, dragons. That is a pretty picture." She said, pointing to a fire breathing Hungarian Horntail.

"Pretty right up until the minute it eats you."

"Uh-huh. I take it you are not looking at dragons out of boredom?"

"You would be correct."

"So you have to fight a dragon, one way or another?"

"I'd imagine so."

"Well, I think defense would be the most prudent think to worry about first. Claws, tail swipes, fire breathing, and wind buffets."

"Stopping dragon fire doesn't sound easy."

"If you can't stop it, then I suggest dodging it. Or taking cover behind a rock. But, if all that fails, then there is a flame freezing charm. I don't know it, but Daphne probably does. If not… well, this is the library."

"Ok, flame-freezing charm. What about its tail and claws?"

"Don't get hit by them." Astoria said this as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. To be fair, it was.

"So how would I go about beating one? I've heard that the eyes are the weakpoint."

"Hit it in the eyes then." Astoria shrugged.

"Yeah, but, well, they are not very big, and to get a good shot, I'm going to have to get close, and that means within fire, claws, and tail range."

"If fighting a dragon was easy, everyone would be doing it. You know it takes a dozen handlers to control one, right?"

"Thanks for the encouragement."

"If you don't want to confront it directly, then perhaps you could use a distraction. Maybe transfigure something into its favorite meal."

"And what would that be?"

"Sheep probably. Or maybe humans. Or, you could transfigure something into its predator."

"Name one thing that feeds on dragons." Harry challenged.

"Erm, well, there are probably things that feed on baby dragons…"

"I don't think I will be facing a baby dragon."

"I agree, but unless you can transfigure something into a basilisk or a nundu, scaring a dragon isn't going to be easy."

"What's a nundu?" Harry asked.

"It's a giant poison breathing cat." Daphne replied, walking up from behind. "Why are you talking about dragons?"

"Because that's what Harry will be facing." Astoria answered.

"Interesting."

"Do you know how to defeat one? Its eyes are its weakest spot apparently."

"Knowing how to defeat one and actually defeating one are two different things. The killing curse will take one down no problem."

"It's illegal" Harry responded, pointing out the obvious.

"Only when used on humans."

"Yeah, but I wouldn't feel right using a spell like that. Not to mention I don't think I would be able to learn it in under a week, unless you know it? I really don't want to kill a dragon unless I have to."

Daphne shrugged. "There's not many other spells that can get through its hide easily. So you will have to use something like the Conjunctivitis Curse on its eyes."

"Great. You can help me learn that along with the flame-freezing charm. And then I just have to figure out how to dodge its claws and tail."

"It will be hard to outmaneuver a dragon, unless you have your broom or something, but you are not allowed to bring outside items."

"That's brilliant." Harry responded.

"What?"

"Bringing my broom. I can't bring it with me, but I can fetch it after the event starts, with a summoning charm."

"Harry, that's… that's brilliant. And devious. I like it." And in conjunction with her words, Daphne tapped Harry's lion lapel pin, transfiguring it into a snake pin.

"That is high praise. But, I do have to learn these spells."

"I'll help. I don't know these spells either, so we can learn them together. I'm sure Astoria will want to as well, because that's what Astoria does."

"Great. When can we start?"

Daphne looked up at the clock. "Well, Slytherins have Charms next, and then we have Potions with you after lunch. How about after dinner?"

"Works for me. I can't express how much I appreciate you doing this with me."

"Just make sure I don't waste my time." Daphne replied.

The break finished and they went their spate ways. Harry had care of magical creatures, featuring blast ended skrewts once again. He had lunch with Neville. Potions he was paired up with Neville as well, because Daphne always chose Tracey Davis as her partner. Dinner was the same, and then he used the Marauders Map to locate the two Greengrass sisters.

They were in an old charms classroom. The room is not really old, as it is exactly the same age as every other room in the castle. It's old because it is unused, and it is unused because there are not that as many students in the current years then their used to be before all the recent wars. Their used to be a charms master teaching the older students, while their apprentice would teach the beginning years, but that hasn't happened since Dumbledore was a fledgling sorcerer.

Harry entered through the door and saw the two Slytherin witches at the front of the room. Astoria was sitting cross-legged on top of the teacher's desk, while Daphne's legs were hanging off the side.

"Hello!" Harry waved to them. They waved back. Harry grabbed a chair and pulled it up to the desk. "What have we got on the agenda?"

"The flame-freezing charm harks back to the days of witch burning, which hasn't happened in many centuries so it is not actively taught anymore. However, it is still in our year two spellbook, and it's not very difficult. The summoning charm is actually in this year's spellbook, and we are to learn it sometime in the spring. The Conjunctivitis Curse is not in any spellbooks, at it is a pain inducing curse. It's really more of a mild irritant, but when used on a sensitive body part like the eyes, it is quite annoying. That being said, it is a fairly common spell and it did not take long to find."

"Wow, Daphne, that is really helpful. When did you find these books?"

"Astoria found the flame-freezing charm because she remembered seeing it in her book a few days ago. I knew about the summoning charm already, and the conjunctivitis curse took all of five minutes to find in the library."

Astoria beamed at her sisters praise. "I think we should start with the flame-freezing charm because it is the easiest, and the least lethal if you mess it up. It only works on fire."

Harry and the girls spent the next hour throwing fireballs and other incendiary spells at each other, and freezing them with the charm. It would have been a handy spell to know in first year when he attempted to get the Philosopher's Stone. He could have used the charm instead of having to drink Snape's pisswater potion.

Harry had hopes that the charm would work like the book said; dissipates pretty much anything short of Fiendfyre, whatever that is. Harry didn't know if dragon fire was more or less powerful than that spell, but there was no way to find out.

They called it a night after mastering the spell, so Harry went off to bed, excited that he finally accomplished something, and more important, accomplished it without Hermione's help.

* * *

Wednesday was Wednesday. Harry had Charms in the morning, which was alright. He could at least focus on learning a new spell, instead of being bored to tears in one of the non-magic courses. He used his break time to go through the book he had gotten in the mail; Learning French for Dummies.

It is with that book that he finally summoned the nerve to sit across from Fleur Delacour during lunch. When he stood in front of her seat, half the hall watched in horror as he sat down. He pointed to the cover of his book, to which Fleur gave a soft laugh.

Harry flicked through the pages for a few second before saying. "Mucho gusto. Me llamo Harry Potter."

Fleur's jaw dropped down before she started laughing again. "That ees Spanish Monsieur Potter."

Harry nearly slammed the book closed and looked at the cover. "Damn it, it says French. Must be some kind of joke... I wanted to at least attempt to talk to you in your native language, since you are a guest here in our school. It probably seems quite foreign to you."

"That ees kind. I have learned Engleesh, but I have not used eet much before. I am unsure how… some words… work together? Yes, that is eet."

"I would be willing to help you with your… Engleesh, if you would teach be the basics of French."

"Are you mockeeng me?" Frenchy responded.

"No, not at all. I think it's cute actually."

"Cute? I guess that ees a compliment. Thank you." Fleur said primly. She started to pick at her food. She had hardly eaten any of it in the five minutes he sat there. He had eaten most of his though.

"Is there something wrong with the food?" Harry asked.

"I do not like eet. It ees too 'eavy."

"For your human nature or your Veela nature?" Harry asked curiously.

"Veela." She responded simply. Perhaps she wasn't too keen on her own heritage. Or maybe she wasn't too keen on Harry.

Realizing that train of thought was stonewalled, Harry started something else. "You must be very smart and knowledgeable to have gotten chosen over your schoolmates."

"People do not take me seriously." Fleur said, carefully pronouncing each syllable correctly. " Zey theenk I am all beauty with no mind. I weell show zem deefferently."

"I wish you the best of luck."

"Why are you here?" Fleur finally asked.

"I just wish to get to know the Champions better. I've already talked to Viktor extensively, but his English is not as good as yours." Harry tried to compliment her, but it was ignored.  
"Do you have a lot of friends?"

Fleur shrugged. "Girls do not like me. And boys… want me. And you? You are famous, non?"

"I have a few close friends, but I am in similar position to you I think. Some people hate me, and girls want me because of my fame. I'll never take advantage of that."

"Eet ees because of what you said when you were chosen. You want to make your own destiny. Me too."

"Well, it looks like we have sometheeng in common." Harry responded with a fake French accent. Harry spied a small smile forming at the corner of Fleur's lips.

Success.

* * *

After lunch was over, and everyone hustled off to their next classes. Harry had Divination next, but he couldn't be bothered to go. It was a waste of time, even if he wasn't preparing for the first task.

He slowly walked his way up to his dorm, and grabbed his Firebolt. Instead of wasting time walking back down the stairs, he just opened his window and flew out that way. Much more convenient.

Harry did a few lazy loops in the air, and did some grass grazing with his feet, but he never went wild. He just had a leisurely time enjoying the air.

When he was done with that, he laid on the grass. The sun was still shining out, and for once there wasn't a rain cloud in sight.

It wasn't hot out by any stretch of the imagination, as it is November, but he did find a nice patch of grass that allowed the sun to shine directly down on his face, warming it nicely.  
Before he knew it, he felt himself drifting off into a nap.

* * *

Harry didn't remember what he dreamed of. He never went into REM, just a light nap. He remembered swatting at something brushing up against his nose.

And then he thought he felt it again, so he swatted at it. He thought it was gone, and could concentrate on sleeping once more, but no! it came back and attacked his nose once more.

He forcefully grabbed whatever it was and sat up as quick as a fox. He looked down at the object of his torture – a feather attached to a string. He followed the string, which led to a stick. The stick was in the hands of the littlest Greengrass- Astoria.

"Hello Harry!" Astoria greeted cheerfully.

Harry groaned. She was always so cheerful, but he was having such a nice nap…outside…during the night.

At the realization that it was dark out, and it was most certainly light when he fell asleep, he pulled himself of the ground.

Daphne was standing next the cheerful Astoria, with arms crossed and impatiently tapping her foot on the ground.

"Thought it would be funny to stand us up, huh Potter? We are trying to help you after all, and you don't show up. We looked all over the place when we notice you didn't show up for dinner."

"Shit. I missed dinner?" Harry panicked.

"I don't think anyone else noticed." Daphne responded. "Luckily for you, my sister was not convinced that you stiffed us on purpose. She has a kind heart, so she brought you some food."

On cue, Astoria unwrapped a sandwich for him. "It should still be hot; I hit it with a warming charm on the way down."

"Thank you." Harry nodded at both of them and devoured the sandwich, but being careful to not look like too much of a pig in front of the girls. "So how did you find me?"

"We checked all the common spots in the castle, and after we didn't find you anywhere, the most likely spot you were to be outside is at the Quidditch pitch. We weren't expecting you to be sleeping though."

"Sorry. I skipped out on divination and flew around a bit, and then napped. That must have been five hours ago though; I guess I was more tired than I thought."

"Well, I hope you are ready to practice the summoning charm with us. That is why we came all the way down here."

"Alright." Harry agreed. "Did you bring the book? All I got is my broom."

"Don't need a book, the spell is simple. And it's good you have the broom, because that is what you will be summoning during the Task, is it not?"

Harry nodded his head and located his wand from his pocket. He needed a holder or something for it, it was too easily to lose or break otherwise. "What's the incantation?"

"Accio. Anti-clockwise circle motion with your wand."

"So, it's like the opposite to the banishing charm? That's Depulso with a clockwise circle."

"Very astute Potter. After the incantation, you can either say the name of what you are summoning out loud, or you can just picture it in your mind."

"Okay. Accio quaffle!" Harry chanted, and a few seconds later, the ball whizzed out of the locker room and bounced off his forehead, knocking him to the ground.

Daphne instantly went into a fit of giggles while Astoria outright laughed at his misfortune.

Harry pulled himself off the ground, grumbling. "At least it wasn't a bludger."

"I think you were too forceful with the spell." Daphne stated.

"Well, that is quite obvious." Astoria observed. "Accio quaffle." she called out, and the ball soared into her outstretched hand.

"You made it look easy." Harry observed. "You've done it before?"

"Nope. Depulso!" Astoria responded, banishing the ball right at Harry's forehead once more. He splashed onto the ground once more, not expecting that.

"Damn it all." Harry groaned. He slowly made it back up to his feet, and attempted to glare at Astoria. It didn't work though because she was still smiling. He tried to glare at Daphne instead, but she was chewing on her fist to prevent herself from laughing.

He pointed his wand at the ball on the ground. "Depulso." The ball rocket at Daphne, who simply stepped to the side.

"That's not every nice, Potter."

"Why do I think both of you are out to get me?"

"Who, me?" Daphne said innocently. She pointed her want at the quaffle, and recalled it back to herself with the summoning charm.

"Yes you." Harry responded.

Daphne merely banished the ball back at Harry, who attempted to duck. But instead of the ball hitting him, Daphne summoned it back with a quick "Accio."

She repeated this four or five times until Harry stopped flinching. Then she let the ball go and smack him in the forehead. Harry grunted from the impact, and took a seat on the ground.

"Okay, you win. Devious bitches." Harry mumbled the last part under his breath.

"What was that?"

"I said you two are devious witches."

"That's what I thought." Astoria and Daphne took a seat across from him.

"I think I should be able to use the spell fairly easily during the task."

Daphne nodded her agreement. "Use it at the very beginning, because it will take some time for the object to come to you if it's far away."

Harry sat silent for a few moments before asking. "Do you do this often? Not beating me up with a quaffle, I mean learning new spells."

"Not usually. We learn a lot of spells in class. If we don't learn it this year, then we might learn it next year. And you could always ask a teacher about a specific spell as well. I do like learning new spells, but it's unsafe to practice by yourself."

"Supervision is important, in case something goes wrong." Astoria agreed.

"There is also the nature of the spells in question. How many of your friends can you walk up to, and ask if t hey want to practice a questionable piece of magic? They may think you are crazy, or dangerous."

"I've been called a dark wizard before, for being a parselmouth." Harry replied dryly.

"Being a parselmouth hardly makes you a dark wizard. It's a very limited ability really, worthless in my opinion. It's your intentions and actions that define who you are." Daphne responded firmly.

Harry nodded his head. "It did help me defeat the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets though."

"Slytherin's monster was a basilisk?" Daphne asked. "I suppose that makes sense, but I can't see one being defeated by a twelve year old."

"I can show you the basilisk if you want."

"I don't want to see your penis." Daphne replied.

"What?" Harry asked incredulously.

"I said I don't want to see a basilisk corpse."

"Suit yourself." Harry changed the topic. "So since you are not trying to learn every spell in the library, what do you do in your free time? Actually, what do Slytherins in general usually do?"

"Well, if I'm not doing homework, I usually read. I like mysteries. If no one else is doing anything either, Tracey, Blaise, Astoria and I will play a game called Myths and Legends of Camelot."

"Never heard of it."

"It's a wizard made game, involving spell chains, triggers, and enchantments, and also a liberal amount of arithmancy to make the game random."

"Sounds complicated," Harry remarked. "What about the other students? Malfoy?"

"I'd imagine they do the same things as anyone else. I know Malfoy and Parkinson tutor Crabbe and Goyle when they are not doing their own work. Otherwise they just talk. Be it politics or sports, Malfoy pretty much just takes the piss out of anybody and everybody."

"I'd half expect him to be plotting on taking over Hogwarts or something using his father's name and connections."

"It's always a possibility, but ambition on a scale like that is not limited to Slytherins you know."

"I know."

"It's late." Astoria stated suddenly. "We have to get back before curfew and before the creepy caretaker locks the door."

Harry looked down at his watch. "You're right. Let's go."

They ran up to the castle and through the halls, splitting up at the stairs going down. "Same time tomorrow night? Not outside of course."

"We'll be there." The sisters replied before heading off on their own.

* * *

Classes the next day were largely irrelevant. Meal times were the most interesting things of the day to Harry, next to practicing for the first task with the Greengrass sisters.

Breakfast today was especially interesting. Harry didn't get much sleep again, thank to his several hour long mid-afternoon nap the previous day. Without thinking about it he sat at his house table, next to Neville and across from Hermione. Naturally, this got his bookworm friend's attention.

"Harry, what's wrong with you? You haven't spoken to me in days."

"You haven't spoken to me either. It didn't look like you wanted to talk to me, not after my name came out of the Goblet of Fire."

"Well, I was surprised, and hurt that you didn't tell me. And I still am. Are you preparing for the first task? Have you been told what it is?"

"I have been practicing a few spells that I think will help." Harry replied vaguely.

"It's dangerous to practice new spells alone. And who is that waving at you?"

Harry looked at who she was talking about, and saw Astoria waving at him. He waved back. "That is Astoria, and she has been helping me with my spells. She's a second year."

"You have a second year Slytherin helping you with spells? Are you crazy?" Hermione said in a furious whisper.

"Well, it didn't look like my fucking friends were going to help me." Harry retorted. "She's the only one who has offered to help me. And I'm the Hogwarts Champion; houses hardly matter."

Hermione stiffly nodded, not daring to disagree. "I'll help if you need me."

"Do you know how to cast a Conjunctivitis Curse?" Harry asked.

"Well, no, but I could –"

"Thanks anyway." Harry responded. She didn't say anything else the rest of the meal, despite looking like she wanted to.

Lunch went much differently. He had transfiguration before it, and while it would be a useful class once you got to 6th or 7th year, learning the ins and out of the skill was not something he could bother with at the present moment. He had bigger fish to fry than turning a mug into a squirrel, such as a dragon.

Harry had brought another French learning book with him when he sat with Fleur. He pointed at the cover, while Fleur looked on faintly amused.

"Var kommer du ifrån?" Harry asked after consulting the book.

"Jag förstår inte svenska." Fleur responded carefully.

"Can you repeat that slowly?" Harry said as he leafed through the book.

"Jag. Förstår. Inte. Svenska."

"I… don't… speak… Swedish. Shit." Harry closed the book quickly to look at the cover. "Damn it, I should have known better than to ask Sirius for help."

"Thees Sirius must 'ave a sense of 'umour." Fleur said with a soft laugh.

"He has been known to be funny, occasionally. Learning French is extremely hard when you get sent Spanish and Swedish books. I have a third book as well, but I bet it's not French either."

"Je suis Fleur Delacour." The part-veela said suddenly.

"What?"

"Vous êtes Harry Potter." Fleur said.

"Oh! Er… Je suis Harry Potter."

"Oui."

"Yes?" Harry asked. Fleur nodded.

"Je suis de Bordeaux."

"You are… from Bordo?" Harry said, pronouncing the name like he heard it. "How far away from Paris is that?"

"About five 'undred kilometre. Et vous?"

Harry wasn't sure what the last part she said was, but it sounded similar to 'and you?' and that made sense so he answered. "Je suis de Surrey.

Fleur nodded he head again. "Bonne. You 'ave… potentialle."

"Merci." Harry smiled. The French witch gave a small smile in return. It was unsure at first, but turned real after a few seconds after realizing that Harry was just an innocent student like her. Harry went to his next class in a good mood, having added a few French words to his vocabulary, and made a pretty girl smile. That seemed to be a new skill he had recently acquired, and he would like to keep using it.

* * *

Harry eventually ended up in a room with Daphne and Astoria once more. He had sat with Fleur again at dinner, telling very simple facts about each other in French. He knew she is seventeen years old, and has a younger sister. The Defense class he had just come from was interesting, only in the fact that Moody had tried to give him a hint about the first task, which Harry found suspicious and ignored. Moody didn't have a reputation for being sane and stable.

Astoria and Daphne had a book spread out in front of them, and they were both sitting on top of the teacher's desk, instead of around it.

Harry made a single glance at each set of their bare legs peeking out from their skirts, and making sure that they saw him make his glance, before greeting them. "Hey Greengrasses."

"Hello Potter." They both responded simultaneously.

"What have we got today?"

"Conjunctivitis curse. Named after its most common use, which is on the eyes. It's an irritating spell, literally. When used on skin, it's a minor annoyance at best, but when used on a sensitive area such as the eyes, or inside the ears, nose, or mouth, it is extremely painful."

"It doesn't sound like something that would be taught here normally." Harry observed.

"That is correct. It is a commonly known spell though. It's a great, non-lethal way of subduing someone. It causes no direct permanent damage, unless the target tries to claw out their eyes or go on a rampage."

"So how do we cast it?"

"Incantation is perrusium inhanestum. Wand motion is a half circle with a twisting jab."

"Alright. And how do we counter it?"

"The standard finite incantatem will suffice. You can do that right?"

"Yeah." Harry nodded.

"So what's the deal with you and Fleur? You've sat with her a few times now." Daphne asked.

Harry was caught off guard. "Well, I got to know Krum fairly well, and Fleur is the other champion, so I want to know a little about her as well since I am going to be competing against them both."

"You learn anything interesting? How's her English?"

"We'll, her English is alright, but heavily accented. And she's not very popular amongst her classmates. Girls don't like her because she's a veela, and boys only want to get in her pants."  
"Well, the second part is part is probably true regardless of her veela nature. Are you sure she's a veela?"

"I know her grandmother was a veela, so she's at least part. She has to fight against the preformed notions that her classmates have against her, so that is why she entered the tournament."

"Sort of like you." Daphne pointed out.

"True. She is smart, and pretty, like you."

Daphne smiled. "Are you flirting with me?"

"I'm not sure. Am I? I've never really done it before. I think you almost blushed when I called you pretty. And now you are blushing, because you are pretty."

Daphne started laughing.. "I've never flirted either, but it could be fun."

Harry shrugged casually. "I don't think a witch is going to hex me for telling her she is pretty."

"True, especially since you are the first to say that to me."

"Really? Well, it's true."

"Ok, that's enough." Daphne chided. "Let me try."

"Go for it."

Daphne thought about it for a minute. "I want to suck your cock!" she exclaimed.

Harry was startled by her words and nearly choked on his tongue. Astoria made her presence known however "I'm still here!"

"That's... um, quite bold, and not exactly what I had in mind." Harry said hastily.

"Sorry. I guess I am rubbish at flirting."

"Just say what comes naturally, and I'm quite sure that what you said isn't that."

"Yes, I suppose. I don't want to give someone the wrong impression, but you are pretty much the first boy I've had a long conversation with."

"Well, er, let's get back to the purpose of us being here before Astoria dies from laughing."

Daphne made a point to look at her sister. "Oh, her? She hasn't gone an hour in her life without laughing."

"I'd rather be perpetually cheerful than perpetually gloomy."

"True, but you don't have to live with her."

"Hey! I have to live with you as well. It goes both ways." Astoria responded by sticking her tongue out.

"Anyways…" Daphne said. "Back to this curse. I suppose we have to try it on each other, otherwise we wouldn't know if it worked. I'll go –"

"Perrusium inhanestum!" Astoria called out in the middle of her sister's sentence, and hit her right on the arm.

"Damn it Astoria!" Daphne reprimanded while scratching her arm.

"What's it feel like?" Harry asked curiously.

"Why don't you find out for yourself? Perrusium inhanestum." Daphne cast the spell at Harry's leg.

"It feels like someone is rubbing grit paper on my leg. It didn't hurt that much at first, but its slowly increasing at my leg feels more raw. Finite Incantatem, Finite Incantatem." Harry dispelled both of the curses.

"What the hell is grit paper?" Daphne asked.

"Er, muggles use it to smooth wood. Maybe wizards use it too, I don't know."

Daphne shrugged. "I don't know a thing about carpentry. But what I do know is that there is one of us here who hasn't felt the spell yet."

"You're right. Perrusium inhanestum." Harry pointed the wand at Astoria, who shrieked and started rubbing her stomach where she got hit.

She retaliated by hitting Harry with the curse, who in turn hit Daphne in the lower torso. They all start to laugh, but then Daphne gave off a small moan.

"What the hell was that?" Harry asked.

"You… you hit me down there!"

"Where?" Harry asked. He saw sweat start to form on Daphne's forehead as she gave another gasp.

"In the girl bits you imbecile," Astoria mocked, before quickly canceling all the spells. "Finite Incantatem! Finite Incantatem!" Finite Incantatem!""

Harry watched with wide eyes as Daphne slowly calmed down. "Did you just…?"

"Thanks Astoria. No, not quite, but – no, never mention what just happened to anyone, do you hear? Both of you!"

They both nodded mutely. "That looked embarrassing." Harry commented.

"Shut up Potter. I'll see you tomorrow." Daphne said and she left.

"I bet she's going to go try it in private now." Harry said to Astoria.

She giggled, but it was uncertain. "Probably not. I don't think she's that kind of person, but then again I don't think she would talk about that to her thirteen year old sister."

"You're probably right. Well, good night."

"Good night. Oh, and I wouldn't bring up what just happened to her anytime soon. She can hold a grudge, especially one that embarrasses her."

"Alright. I'll let it go. It was a simple mistake anyone could have made, I don't think any of us were expecting that. It could have been you who got hit there."

"Ew, gross." Astoria said, although she merely rolled her eyes. She waved goodbye before heading off towards the dungeons.

* * *

"The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog." Harry said

"Ze queek brown fox yumped ozzer ze lassee dog." Fleur repeated.

"Good."

"Non. Eet ees... roobeesh." Fleur said. Harry almost laughed at the way she pronounced 'rubbish' but he held it in. Sometimes she was very careful with her speech, but other times her French accent came in very heavy.

"It."

"Eet."

"It."

"Eet."

"It."

"Eet."

"Is."

"Ees."

"Is."

"Ees."

"Good. You're getting better." Harry lied. Fleur rolled her eyes.

Harry actually found her struggling sexy, as was the way she couldn't pronounce 'I's' or 'S's' and how she can't even say 'H's'. All her words just flowed smoothly into each other and was quite cute. Harry reluctantly admitted that there are some good things about France, as long as you don't smell like cheese, wine, or surrender monkeys.

They practiced a few basic French words after that, but it was mostly Harry just repeating simple phrases, without knowing how word structure works. He enjoyed just talking with the French witch more than actually learning the language, but it was fun.

888

After a nearly disastrous, but boring potions class, Harry found himself in a classroom with the Greengrass sisters once again. Every potions class is nearly disastrous, so he hardly even bats an eye when a cauldron explodes, even though it is very dangerous. He knew that if he didn't die outright, he would have his customary bed in the hospital wing under the kind care of Madam Pomfrey.

Astoria waved at him when he entered and he returned the greeting to both. Harry took Astoria's words the previous day to heart in regards to Daphne, so he played it safe.

"Hell Daphne. You're looking mighty cheerful today. You're almost glowing, did something happen yesterday that we're not aware of?"

Daphne groaned and buried her hands in her face. "Damn it Potter."

"I will admit, the way you got all flustered yesterday, and the light moaning… it was quite hot."

Daphne rolled her eyes. "Ok, that's enough. It takes more than a few seconds of an accidental charm to reach an orgasm you know."

"Really?" Harry asked.

"Young ears here." Astoria announced.

Harry and Daphne both shrugged simultaneously.

"Let's go over your plan of attack," Daphne suggested. "Instead of talking about things neither one of us are comfortable with."

"Alright. It's going to go down like this…"

* * *

"Champions, you have to come down onto the grounds now… You have to get ready for your first task."

"Okay," Harry said, standing up, setting his fork down on his plate. Krum did the same. The professor had already collected Fleur.

"Good luck, Harry," Astoria whispered. "You'll be fine!"

"Thanks." Harry responded. He followed Professor McGonagall out of the hall, secret hoping that the first task was indeed dragons. If it wasn't, he would probably be in a world of shit.

As the professor walked him down the stone steps and out into the cold November afternoon, she put her hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Now, don't panic," she said, "just keep a cool head… We've got wizards standing by to control the situation if it gets out of hand… The main thing is just to do your best, and nobody will think any the worse of you… Are you all right?"

"I'll be fine." Harry answered. McGonagall nodded her head and the three champions followed her down to the edge of the forest.

They walked around the edge for a few minutes until a large clearing opened up in front of them, containing an arena along with a tent. He was confident in himself, but he just hoped that the he practiced enough.

"Mr. Bagman is inside the tent waiting for you three to arrive. He will give you instructions for the upcoming task while the crowd fills the seats. Good luck."

Harry followed Krum inside, and Fleur followed him. The tent was plain, with nothing more than a few seats and a table inside. There was a bag on the table, and Ludo Bagman was standing besides it.

"Champions, champions, how exiting this moment is! Please, gather 'round. Today is a big day for us all. All eyes will be upon you as you compete head to head against a fearsome monster. Exactly which monster you face will be inside this bag."

Bagman then grabbed the bag from the table, and held it open in front of Fleur. "Please, ladies first."

Fleur reach inside the bag with a small amount of trepidation, and a few seconds later she pulled out a miniature dragon statue. "Oooh, the Welsh Green Dragon. A pretty creature, but quite dangerous. Mr. Krum, if you will?"

The French witch showed no signs of surprise, but instead she had a steadfast determination. The surly Quidditch star reached into the bag and pulled out another dragon model. "The exotic Chinese Fireball! I hope it doesn't get too hot out there for ya! Harry, your turn!"

Krum merely shrugged when he pulled his dragon out, but it looked like he had started to sweat from nervousness, or perhaps surprise. Harry reached in and pulled out the only remaining dragon. "Very good, the Swedish Short-snout. Watch out for its tail, its spikes are very sharp!" Bagman then turned his attention on all three champions equally. "Now that you all know you are facing dragons, I will tell you what your task is. Each dragon is female, guarding a nest of eggs. There are several eggs in the nest, but there is also a fake, golden egg. Your task is to retrieve this egg; It contains a clue for the next task. Now, the audience is gathering, so you have a few minutes to steady your nerves and ready a strategy. Mr. Crouch will be commentating. A single horn will blow, then he will give an introduction. After that he will give a double horn blow, which will be Miss Delacour's signal to enter the arena. When her fight is over, the next double horn will be Mr. Krum's signal, and after that will be Mr. Potter's. Any questions?"

All three champions shook their heads, and Bagman wished them good luck before exiting the tent.

"How did you two learn ov dragons?" Krum asked.

"My friend's brother works with dragons, and they spotted him down in town when he should have been in Romania. What about you?"

"I saw them when I vas flying." Krum answered.

"One night when I was walkeeng back to our carriage, I saw fire through ze forest. I checked it out ze next day and found ze dragons."

None of the three champions said anything else after that. They all realized that while they knew they were facing dragons, they were now actually going to face them, and that was not exactly a comforting feeling, no matter how confidant they were in their skills and plan.

And then the sound of a horn rang out, followed by the amplified voice of Mr. Crouch. "Welcome! Welcome! To the First Task of the 134th Triwizard tournament! Representing the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic is Fleur Delacour! Representing the Durmstrang Institute for Magical Learning is Viktor Krum! And representing Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry is Harry Potter!"

"Today these three champions will face trial by fire. Each champion will have to show down a fearsome dragon, use their wits and skill to steal the golden egg from the dragons nest! Each dragon is a nesting mother, and will protect their clutch with determination and a lot of fire.. I promise you, this task will be a crowd pleaser! The champions are currently in the staging tent, preparing their nerves to face one of the most dangerous creatures in the world. On my signal, the First Task will commence and the first champion will make their way out from the ten! Who will it be?"

Crouch's suspenseful narration was supplanted by the double blast of his horn. Fleur subconsciously straightened her clothes before walking out of the tent with her head held high, and her wand in attack mode.

"It's Fleur Delacour! This will be a great match! How will she recover her egg?"

The crowd cheered as the French witch made her way into the Arena.

"Fleur's approaching the dragon with fiery determination! She is braver than I! The dragon is a Welsh Green, its native land is not too far from here. How will she get past it?"

There was some more oohs and ahhs as Crouch continued his commentary. "That dragon fire is hot, but fire runs in Miss Delacour's veins as well. And what is this spell she is using? The ferocious dragon seems to be calming down."

Some booing could be heard in the tent.

"The Beauxbatons champion has used several anti-aggression charms on the reptilian monster. What is her next plan?

A minute passed before Crouch spoke again. "I hear a steady chant coming from Fleur…. It sounds like multiple hypnosis charms... Is she trying to put a dragon to sleep?"

And then after a long stretch of baited silence "She's done it! Fleur has put the dragon into an enchanted sleep! Getting the egg will be easy now! She's creeping up… yes, she doesn't want to startle a sleeping dragon of course… I'm whispering so my amplified voice doesn't mess up her task…"

Another minute passed before Crouch announced. "Ladies and Gentlemen - The Beauxbatons champion has done it! She has retrieved the egg safely and with no harm done. The judges will compile scores while the dragon handlers bring out a different dragon for our next champion."

"Sounds like she haf done it." Krum told Harry inside the tent.

"I'm not surprised." Harry said. "She is smart and skilled, otherwise the Goblet wouldn't have picked her."

Krum didn't say anything in response, and Harry didn't push. Krum was about to face the next dragon. Harry didn't manage to make out what Crouch said Fleur's score was, but then the sound of his horn blew.

Krum made his way out the tent and into the arena, but not before saying. "Let's hope the Goblet picked me for the same reasons."

Harry was alone in the tent but responded. "I don't think any of us can be considered smart now, having to face down dragons."

"Here comes out next champion!" Crouch's voice rang out. "Who is it? It's Durmstrang's champion, Viktor Krum!"

The crowd cheered very loud. Krum was ten time more popular than Fleur, and twice as famous as Harry. Hell, he was more famous in the wizarding world than James Dean was in the muggle world. Everyone knows about Quidditch, even if you hate it.

"How will Krum dazzle the crowds today? After an amazing World Cup performance, how will facing a dragon compare? We shall see! His task is to retrieve the golden egg from the nesting Chinese Fireball. Beware; it isn't named the Fireball for no reason!'

Sure enough, Harry heard oohs and ahhs, and even saw the change in lighting and felt the heat from inside the tent.

"Oh boy! That dragon sure is feisty! We felt the heat up here! It looks like Krum is employing a healthy amount of cooling charms as well as a modified-flame freezing charm. I can't say I blame him! How will he get the egg though?"

A few minutes passed as the dragon roared and roared and roared.

"Krum has come out from the safety of his rock shelter, and is looking to make a move. It looks like the dragon has calmed down slightly. Oh! Krum has transfigured a rock into a large dog!" Harry could hear the barking.

"It looks like he is using it as a diversion. Will it be enough? Krum doesn't think so, he's started to cast spells at the dragon's head!"

And then all of a sudden there was a huge roar. "Oh, it looks like he connected with the eye! Judging by the effects, It must have been an inflammatory curse! That dragon looks to be in a lot of pain now! Look! Krum's going in. Oh watch out!"

The crowded all yelled at once as Crouch continued. "That was close! The dragon stepped on some of the eggs, but Krum has the golden one in his arms! Well done! It looks like he may be injured, but the nurse will have him checked out in no time! An excellent performance!"

Harry stretched his muscles to loosen the tension he was feeling from his nervousness. The last few minutes before his signal were nerve wracking. "The dragon handlers are bringing in the final dragon while the judges decide their score…"

The sound of two horns broken him out of his trance, and then he made his way out of the tent.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you, Harry Potter! The Hogwarts Champion will be retrieving the golden egg from a fearsome Swedish Short-snout. While it lacks in biting power, it more than makes up for it with its spined tail! Of course, all because it can't eat you, doesn't mean it won't cook you!"

Harry walked until he was about fifty feet away from the dragon, and then he called out "ACCIO!" He pictured the long object in his mind very clearly, but the school was a fifteen minute walk so it would there would be some flight time before it got there.

"Smart!" Crouch announced. "A summoning charm! I can't wait to see what he is retrieving! What will he do in the mean time?"

Harry responded by shooting a blasting hex at the rocky ground. It was another spell that he had learned with Daphne and Astoria the previous day.

He followed up with "Depulso!" to send some of the rocks careening at the dragon.

"He's banishing rocks at the dragon! Look at him go! Oh, watch out for the fire!"

Harry rolled off to the side, but still brandished his wand and countered the nearest spurt of fire with "Profundus Congellus!"

"A textbook cast of the Flame-freezing Charm, nicely done!" Crouch yelled.

Harry continued banishing rocks at the dragon as he dodged fire. "Depulso! Depulso! Depulso!" He kept casting. He didn't realize he wasn't saying the spell out loud any more, and was simply doing the wand motions.

He found himself within tail swiping range, but that just happened to be how close he needed to get for the Conjunctivitis Curse. He fired three before connecting with one of the dragon's large eyes.

"Harry has taken Krum's route and utilized the Conjunctivitis Curse. With such large eyes, it must be especially irritating to the dragon. But watch out for the tail!

Harry had to dodge backwards to avoid the tail. Harry had hoped that the barrage of stones and the Conjunctivitis Curse would cause the dragon to stagger away from the nest, but that didn't happen.

But then, he heard the whistling sound of his summoned item. He only had a split second to realize to extent of his folly, and he dived to the ground.

The Sword of Godric Gryffindor soared over his head, and embedded itself hilt deep into the Swedish Short-snout's chest. The dragon attempted to claw at the hilt with its stubby arms, but it collapsed to the ground after a few seconds and remained still.

"Shit, did I kill it?" Harry wondered out loud as he approached the nest of eggs, plucked out the gold one, and headed towards the medical tent. He had gotten the idea to summon the sword from the book about artifacts in the library.

"I don't believe it! Has Harry Potter slain a fully-fledged adult dragon? He has successfully retrieved the egg! Give him a round of applause! Handlers, please check out the dragon while the judges give their final scores."

Harry made his way into the tent and was accosted by the Hogwarts Nurse, Madam Pomfrey.

"Mr. Potter! Please sit. I can't say I'm surprised that you've found yourself fighting a dragon. One of these days you're going to get yourself killed though."

"Thanks for your kind words." Harry responded.

Madam Pomfrey shushed him. "Stay still, this will only take a few seconds, and then you can –"

"Harry!" a young voice cried, before a girl jumped onto him with a hug.

"Oh, hello Astoria."

"You alright?" the young Slytherin asked.

"He's fine." Pomfrey said. "If you start hurting in a few days, let me know. Sometime an injury doesn't manifest at first."

And then two other people entered the room. He let go of his sisterly hug with Astoria to look at who it was. Ron and Hermione.

"Uh, hi." Ron said lamely. "Look, I apologize. For everything. I'm sure there's a lot of things I did wrong, so I'll just apologize for them all. I would have helped you, you know, with the fight, or whatever, but we both know I'm not that smart and I don't think there's much I could have helped with."

"Well, uh, thanks for your support then."

"He was cheering for Krum." Hermione interjected.

Ron had the decency to look away and blush. "I would have bet on him too." Harry said.

"Who's this?" Ron asked, pointing at Astoria.

"Astoria."

"She your girlfriend?"

"Gross!" Astoria replied.

"No." Harry shook his head. "She helped me find some spells and practice with them."

"Er, mate, you know she's a Slytherin, right?"

Harry made a point to look right at her snake pin. "Yeah. But she's always so cheerful and carefree that you can't help but smile when she's around. She's like a cute puppy dog."

Astoria responded with puppy dogs eyes at both Ron and Hermione. Ron responded with a frown, but it was forced. Hermione rolled her eyes and looked away.

"Whatever. The judges are probably going to give the scores out soon."

Harry walked back out of the tent in time to see the judges hold up the scores. He had gotten a 47.

"What did the other two get?" Harry asked Astoria.

"They both got 47's as well."

Harry shook his head. "Rigged."


End file.
